The legal march toward same-sex marriage

Timothy D. Easley / Associated Press

Following the Feb. 12 announcement from U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn that struck down part of Kentucky's same-sex marriage ban, plaintiffs Luke Barlowe, front left, his partner, Jim Meade, rear left, Randy Johnson, front right, and his partner, Paul Campion, answer reporters' questions. The judge ordered that Kentucky recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states and opened the door for the ban to be struck down entirely.

Following the Feb. 12 announcement from U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn that struck down part of Kentucky's same-sex marriage ban, plaintiffs Luke Barlowe, front left, his partner, Jim Meade, rear left, Randy Johnson, front right, and his partner, Paul Campion, answer reporters' questions. The judge ordered that Kentucky recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states and opened the door for the ban to be struck down entirely. (Timothy D. Easley / Associated Press)

In Louisiana, Nicholas J. Van Sickels, right, his husband, Andrew S. Bond, and their daughter, Jules, 2, await a Feb. 12 news conference in New Orleans. They are among four couples, all married in states where same-sex marriage is legal, who joined the Forum for Equality Louisiana in a suit challenging the state's ban on recognizing those marriages.

In Louisiana, Nicholas J. Van Sickels, right, his husband, Andrew S. Bond, and their daughter, Jules, 2, await a Feb. 12 news conference in New Orleans. They are among four couples, all married in states where same-sex marriage is legal, who joined the Forum for Equality Louisiana in a suit challenging the state's ban on recognizing those marriages. (Janet McConnaughey / Associated Press)